TANZANIA: New Zanzibari president calls for unity
NAIROBI, 8 November (IRIN) - Zanzibar president-elect Amani Abeid Karume
of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party was sworn in on Wednesday
after the results of controversial elections on the islands were announced
the previous day.
As thousands of celebrating CCM supporters flooded into the streets of
Zanzibar, questions were being asked about the future of the volatile
semi-autonomous islands. The poll re-run in 16 constituencies on Sunday
was boycotted by the CCM's main rival, the Civic United Front (CUF), which
had demanded completely fresh elections following evidence of
irregularities during the main polling the previous week. No international
nor opposition observers were present for the re-run.
According to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), Karume won 67
percent of the votes, while his opponent Seif Sharif Hamad of the CUF took
33 percent of the votes cast. ZEC chairman Abdulrahman Mwinyi Jumbe
accused some opposition politicians of trying to "humiliate the
commission", and alleged that a section of the international observers had
"violated the norms they vowed to uphold", Tanzanian radio reported.
But CUF vice-chairman Shaaban Mloo called on party supporters not to
succumb to "harassment and torture from law enforcers", raising fears of
further violence on the streets of Zanzibar. During the elections, CUF
supporters were beaten and intimidated by the security forces. Mloo told a
news conference he was afraid the swearing-in ceremony "could be marred by
police beating of his party's sympathisers" and stressed this would not be
tolerated.
Since the announcement of the results, there have been at least two bomb
blasts in Zanzibar, one in Bumbwini, a CUF stronghold. No casualties have
been reported, neither have the perpetrators been found, although police
say they are continuing investigations.
In his first address to the nation on Wednesday, Karume pledged to grant
an amnesty to all those arrested during the election violence. He also
called for unity, warning that "politicians who join groups that threaten
the peace and stability of our country will find themselves confined by
law". Karume added that he hoped to "resolve as soon as possible" the
treason trial of 18 CUF activists who have been detained since 1997. The
London-based rights group, Amnesty International, has expressed the
opinion that the treason charges are "politically motivated and aimed at
silencing peaceful opposition to the Zanzibar government".
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